Pedal Start 1940 Chevrolet MCP Truck

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

My 1940 Chevrolet Modified Civilian Pattern truck has a 216 motor and has the original pedal operated starter.

I have never seen how these pedal starters work. I would imagine that the ignition switch is turned and while the vehicle is in neutral. with the hand brake on one presses down on the starter pedal.

How fast, and how hard is the starter pedal pressed down? How many presses would be normal before a motor starts. Is there a rule of thumb where more than 6 compressions means one has to start trouble shooting the motor to find a problem with it? Or do you keep compressing and cross your fingers until it starts?

How do you check to see that all the starter pedal parts are actually there and each one is functioning properly?

When starting the motor for the first time in God only knows how many decades, would the first attempts to start it be better done via the foot starter pedal or via a crank handle start? Once I find a crank handle for it that is!

Alternatively, can the 216 motor be fitted with an electric starter motor - or does this involve fitting a different flywheel that has a ring gear and a different bell housing to accommodate the starter?

Did CMP 1940 Chevrolet trucks have electric starter motor or were they too fitted with starter pedals to start their motors? Both the MCP and the CMP were 216 engines just like the civilian pattern ones.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I had a scan through YouTube and it has a couple of clips on people "stomp" starting old Chevrolet trucks. For example, this one of a 1938 truck - accessed June 12th 2016 from, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rptpwrQTo_s

The starting pedal does not work how I thought it did. My thinking was that the pedal was hooked up to a cam that turned the motor over. Instead in the video I can hear the sound of a starter motor cranking over.

Does it work just like a switch that has to be pressed down to engage the starter motor? Apart from the pedal on the floor, what moves when the starter pedal is pressed down?

Is seems like a very unnecessary procedure.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[hrpearce]

The Chev blitz has a hand leaver that pushes on a leaver on the starter motor to connect the power, indicated by a black arrow.
I thought your foot leaver should do similar.

[cletrac (RIP)]

That foot pedal just engages the electric starter. You press it and hold it down until it starts. If it doesn't start try pumping the gas pedal a few times.

[Lionelgee]

Originally Posted by hrpearce

The Chev blitz has a hand leaver that pushes on a leaver on the starter motor to connect the power, indicated by a black arrow.
I thought your foot leaver should do similar.

Hello Robert,

Thank you for taking the time to post up a photograph. It gives me some idea where to look. Well once I find new storage spaces for the stuff I have on top of the bonnet I am having a day off today so that task can wait until later.

You know, try and to find a place for one thing and it translates to moving 10 things!

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Originally Posted by cletrac

That foot pedal just engages the electric starter. You press it and hold it down until it starts. If it doesn't start try pumping the gas pedal a few times.

Hello Cletrac - David,

Thank you of the information. How are you going in Canada? The fire at Fort McMurray that forced 80k people to have an enforced evacuation just dropped off the news headlines here in Australia. There has been no follow up news about the aftermath.

We currently have one of the longest running federal government election campaigns in Australia's history, and it is swallowing up a lot of air time as supposed "news".

Kind Regards
Lionel

[lynx42]

Hi Lionel,

Here is the page from the Spare Part Catalogue for the 1941 Chev and Maple Leaf trucks. Don't forget that it shows the USA/Canadian left hand drive truck. Our right hand drive vehicles have the battery on the other side and an accelerator linkage going across the rear of the engine.



If you look on the left side of the page you will see Part No. 2.028 (SHAFT) which is driven by the pedal inside the cab, is connected with 2.033 (LINK) to 2.108 (LEVER) which presses onto 2.100 (SWITCH) on top of the starter motor.

Hope that this helps.

By the way, be careful starting an engine that has been standing for years. Many people look at the oil on the dipstick and because it is clean looking think that the engine is in good clean condition, all that means is that the sediment and carbon which turns oil black, has settled by gravity to the bottom of the sump and could be picked up and spread through the engine causing major damage.

Regards Rick.

[Lionelgee]

Hello Rick,

Thank you very much for posting up the copy of the options page.

They must have changed things around with the battery location in the Maple Leaf trucks. The battery in my Chevrolet Holden's built cabin is immediately below the driver's side floor. There is a cover that lifts up to allow access to the battery.

From the diagram it looks like the battery is in the engine bay.

Anyone know what the battery holder looks like for my truck as it is missing in action?

Would the Optima series of 6 volt batteries be the right one for a 1940 216 engine?

I will be getting one of those inspection scopes to have a look down each spark plug hole before attempting to start the engine. Plus drain all the oil out and put some new oil in.

At the moment I pour a little diesel down each spark plug hole while the engine is sitting. Hopefully when I get the time and money to work on the truck things will be okay!

Kind Regard

[cletrac (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello Cletrac - David,

Thank you of the information. How are you going in Canada? The fire at Fort McMurray that forced 80k people to have an enforced evacuation just dropped off the news headlines here in Australia. There has been no follow up news about the aftermath.

We currently have one of the longest running federal government election campaigns in Australia's history, and it is swallowing up a lot of air time as supposed "news".

Kind Regards
Lionel

People are starting to return to Fort Mac but they're in a state of emergency again. Heavy rains are causing severe flooding. Some times you just can't win!!

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

I scrapped off decades of grease after following an online article about how to located engine numbers on old Chevrolet Trucks. The site also included how to decode American manufactured Chevrolet engines. They start with a K...

I found my engine number starts with PR I checked one Canadian manufactured Chevrolet motors website and they say that engines from 1940 do not start with PR.

So did Holden under licence from Chevrolet in the US or Canada manufacture engines here in Australia?

The engine number is PR3801619

Any ideas about the origins of my motor? I readily accept the fact that motors are interchangeable. The 216 with some modifications was manufactured until the 1950s, so it is highly likely to be a replacement from another donor.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

After some more digging on the Interwebby I found this bit of information .... Accessed November 19, 2016 from, http://www.canadianregister.co.uk/engine_serials.html

From 1938 through to 1940, truck engines had a 'T' 1st letter prefix, light commercial trucks had 'K' and some CMP trucks also used 'T' with 'R' for RHD. Australian exports had 'TRA'. 'AR' was used for 1940, 'WR' for 1940-1943, 'ZR' in 1941, 'XR' in 1941 ( FATs ) and at the end of CMP production, 'SR' in 1942, 'PR' from 1942-1944, and 'FR' from 1942-1944. 'X' was used post-war with GMC trucks.1945 models usually carried a 1944 code. . . . . The 2nd letter was usually an 'R' to indicate Right-Hand drive.

Another look at the website says ... "The 1st digit '2' was the year code i.e. 1942." So my engine PR3801619 was made in 1943.

So does this mean I have a Canadian made motor that was originally fitted to a CMP truck, then used as a donor motor which was later put into my truck sometime between 1943-44 - or shortly after?

Is there anyway to find out what factory in Canada produced my "PR" motor and what city the factory was located?

Either way if the Army did an engine swap the original motor did not last very long!

If the Australian Army did do the engine swap would there be any records of what my truck's ARN might have been and handy information like the still elusive Chassis number?

If as the website suggests, once I get the engine running I will have to play the Canadian Anthem and christen the engine with Canada Dry

What other alcohol does Canada produce? I know Bundaberg where I live is the home of Bundaberg Rum...

Kind Regards
Lionel